Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 goes to Francis Halzen for IceCube neutrino discoveries
10 October 2026
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 on 6 October 2026.
It goes to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA, "for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin".
Halzen first presented his vision for capturing neutrinos at the South Pole in 1988. IceCube covers a cubic kilometre of ice and was finished in 2011.
When a neutrino collides with an atomic nucleus it produces a flash of light, which sensors in the clear glacial ice can track.
Halzen was born in 1944 in Tienen, Belgium. The prize amount is 12 million Swedish kronor.
In plain words
Neutrino Neutrino — An elusive particle that passes through the Earth and our bodies without being noticed.
IceCube IceCube Neutrino Observatory — A cubic kilometre of South Pole ice equipped with light sensors.